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Distinguished Chair and Members of the Committee: I thank you for this opportunity to exchange views with you. We appreciate your interest in UNRWA’s work and regard it as a clear signal of this Committee’s continuing concern for the Palestine refugees we serve. You are not alone in your concern. The proceedings taking place in Annapolis suggest a readiness on the part of the international community to re-engage with the issues of Palestine, and hopefully to rescue it from many years of harmful neglect. I will return to the subject of Annapolis later in my statement. In the decades since 1948, the population of registered refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza, has grown to some 4.5 million, more than five times the original number. As the number of Palestine refugees has grown over the years, so has the scale of their humanitarian and human development needs, the consequent pressures on UNRWA’s budget and the Agency’s ability to maintain services of high quality. There are other – and broader - implications of the rising Palestine refugee population and the extended period of their exile. The governments, people and economies that host them so generously – and have done for fifty-nine years - are straining under their weight, and we should not take lightly the myriad consequences of the growing refugee presence within the relatively small geographic area of the Near East. To some, demography is an immovable impediment in the path of resolving the refugee issue, while to refugees themselves, the passing decades of painful dispossession do little to diminish their craving for a just and definitive solution to their plight. I offer these preliminary observations to illustrate the manifold ways in which the Palestine refugee issue affects the region and the world and to stress that given its physical magnitude and global import, the refugee issue will not go away. It will not yield to being ignored or postponed, but will continue to demand our attention until it is laid to rest in a manner that ensures justice and self-determination for Palestinians and Palestine refugees. My remarks this morning will give you a condensed overview of my agency’s work, including a brief reference to a few of the challenges we are dealing with internally. I will also provide a short account of the situation in the areas of operation where Palestine refugees are under the greatest strain, namely in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. A week ago, I addressed our annual Hosts and Donors Meeting and UNRWA’s Advisory Commission on recent developments within the Agency’s operations. As time available to me this morning will allow me to touch only summarily on a number of points, you may wish to access my more detailed recent statements from the Agency’s website. UNRWA’s role and activities On the subject of UNRWA’s role and activities, I can afford to be brief as many of you will be familiar with the work of this 58 year old "relief and works" Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East. You will be aware that the Agency’s principal programmes are in primary education, primary comprehensive health care, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, and microfinance. We also maintain emergency programmes in Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territory to address the extraordinary needs that arise from the experience of conflict in those locations. Unique among United Nations agencies, we deliver services directly to refugees rather than through implementing partners. This, together with the essential character of our programmes and the large number of our beneficiaries, gives UNRWA the high profile of a public service provider. Host governments, donors and refugees require that our programmes remain predictable, continuous and of high quality. Radical re-design or departures from the basic programmes cannot be lightly contemplated. UNRWA’s role as a global advocate for the Palestine refugees complements its humanitarian and human development functions. Our extensive field presence gives us the privilege of acute insights about the refugee communities and the issues with which they are preoccupied. We share our knowledge with stakeholders and international actors, drawing their attention to the realities of the Palestine refugee condition and reminding them of their obligations to seek a just and lasting solution to their plight. The chance to exercise our role as advocate arises in various circumstances. One example is when we provide input for the UN Secretary-General’s participation in Quartet meetings, and thus ensure that updated information from the field is available to him. We also exercise our advocacy role in the context of briefings during visits of notable personalities to our areas of operation. These are opportunities to offer them a glimpse of refugee living conditions, to present them with snapshots of UNRWA’s programmes, and to allow them to have brief conversations with refugees. Tony Blair, the Quartet Envoy has benefited from UNRWA’s briefings during his recent visits to Jerusalem and the West Bank. Internal challenges Distinguished Committee members: I will now briefly share with you a few of UNRWA’s internal challenges, beginning with institutional reform. In mid- 2006, we launched a process of management reform which will in time transform and modernize the main institutional components of the Agency: leadership, human resources management, organizational processes, including an overhaul of our information technology and procurement systems, and progamme management. Embarking on a serious change process at UNRWA was not optional. It was mandatory and unavoidable if the Agency is to become more efficient and effective and better able to sustain the support and confidence of stakeholders and refugees. Our determination to succeed is fueled by these understandings. The organizational development, or OD process, as we call it, has created the opportunity to place fresh emphasis on the human development dimension of our mandate alongside its humanitarian aspects. We are focusing on the long-term sustainability of programme outcomes and on strategies that enhance the long term prospects of self reliance for Palestine refugees, while reflecting wherever appropriate, the Millennium Development Goals within our framework of indicators. We recognize that genuine reforms must be rooted within, and owned by, the rank and file of the Agency. To this end we make strenuous efforts to ensure that organizational development initiatives are formulated and implemented with the involvement of a cross-section of staff, and that senior management issues regular internal communications on reform issues. I am pleased with the steady progress we are making and confident that with the help of our donors, and given the enthusiasm for change that is shared across the Agency, the organizational development process will be successfully concluded. I should take this opportunity to acknowledge with appreciation the consistently excellent support and growing cooperation that UNRWA enjoys from the European Union. As an active contributor to the work of UNRWA’s Advisory Commission, the EU is a constructive influence in the guidance my Agency receives. In the context of our ongoing efforts to develop better performance indicators within our evolving programme strategy, expert advice from the EU has been particularly helpful. In the arena of funding, Europe is an outstanding partner for UNRWA and a staunch ally for Palestine refugees. This year, donations from the European Commission and European Union member states represent 59.7 % of the total contributions to UNRWA’s regular budget. The European Commission has been the largest single contributor to UNRWA’s General Fund since 2004. With funding this year totaling 18.9 million euros, the EC is second only to the United States on the list of contributors to UNRWA’s emergency appeals for Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. It is also the largest provider of food aid to Palestine refugees. Such an outstanding record of generosity is impossible to fault, particularly when one bears in mind, as we do, the huge competing commitments that Europe bears within the Middle East and elsewhere. Having said that, we would be remiss in our duty if we omitted to point out that in spite of Europe’s generous funding, UNRWA’s chronic budget deficit persists and threatens to widen. Our General Fund budget requirements for 2008 stand at 371 million euros against an income forecast of 269 million euros. The projected shortfall of some 101 million euros places in jeopardy our plans to improve the quality of our services and to address the escalating needs of the most vulnerable Palestine refugees. Our 2007 emergency appeal for Gaza and the West Bank shows a deficit of 50 per cent, casting serious doubt on our ability to make a difference in the lives of those most directly affected by the armed conflict. Funding gaps on this scale cannot be reconciled with the accomplishment of our humanitarian and human development obligations – obligations which the international community demands of UNRWA and whose performance means so much to Palestine refugees. Operational context: Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza Distinguished Committee members: I will now turn briefly to the operational context in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. Lebanon In Lebanon, the tragic events in the north this past summer were a stark reminder of the vulnerability of Palestine refugees to the fragile security situation in that country. The media images of over 30,000 refugees fleeing an armed conflict not of their own making did not capture the full extent of the hardship and misery they endured then, and continue to suffer now. With the benefit of prompt support from donors, UNRWA drew on its expertise to address the needs of the refugees displaced from Nahr el Bared. The impact of UNRWA’s response owed much to the cooperation extended to the Agency by the Lebanese authorities. It is noteworthy that Lebanese schools were made available as temporary shelters for displaced Palestine refugees. The refugees of Beddawi camp played an important part in the relief effort, with many of them opening up their homes to offer shelter to their displaced compatriots. I visited Nahr el Bared two weeks ago and saw for myself an indescribable scene of total destruction. Much of the infrastructure of human habitation has been wiped out leaving a landscape dominated by mounds of rubble and the grotesque shapes of diverse wreckage. My office in Lebanon is working simultaneously on several priorities of equal importance. We are providing care, protection as well as education and health services to the displaced, many of whom continue to live in dire hardship. At the same time we are facilitating the return of limited numbers to the area surrounding the official Nahr el Bared camp, known as the "new camp", where some damaged homes are still habitable. We are also working with the Lebanese government, the World Bank, the Palestinian Liberation Organization and other UN agencies to plan the reconstruction of the "old camp" of Nahr el Bared. Even at this stage, it is clear that restoring an entire city for more than 30,000 residents will require massive investments, probably on the order of a few hundred million dollars. Another pressing priority is the improvement of living conditions in the eleven other refugee camps across Lebanon. UNRWA has already launched a comprehensive $50 million (EUR 33.6 million) camp improvement plan, developed in cooperation the government. We are moving quickly to use the $26 million (EUR 17.5 million) pledged for this plan, appreciating not only the difference camp improvement will make to the quality of refugee lives, but also on the contribution it will make to stability. The desperately deprived conditions in Lebanon’s camps should be addressed as rapidly as possible, to strengthen their ability to resist negative and extremist influences. The occupied Palestinian territory I will now say a few words on the occupied Palestinian territory. Gaza and the West Bank are very much in the news today with the intense interest understandably focused on the proceedings in Annapolis. One might observe, however, that the occupied Palestinian territory has rarely lacked media and global interest. The current state of affairs in Gaza and the West Bank – the widespread violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms and Gaza’s steep descent to new lows of poverty and vulnerability as a result of increasingly punitive sanctions – all these developments have taken place, and continue to occur, in full view of the world. West Bank You will be aware that inter-Palestinian fighting led to control of Gaza by Hamas in the final weeks of June this year. This was followed by a de facto rift between Gaza and the West Bank. I must emphasize that the legitimacy accorded to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority should not blind us to the fact that - far from being spared - Palestinians in the West Bank continue to be subjected to serious violations of their fundamental rights and freedoms. Concurrently with the support expressed by the government of Israel and the international community for the Palestinian Authority, a harsh occupation continues. The foundations of normal Palestinian life are corroded by the closure regime, house demolitions, settlement expansion, the separation barrier and its associated regime and unending armed conflict – all in defiance of binding international instruments and agreements between the parties. We are particularly concerned about a menacing raft of even more crippling movement restrictions already being implemented across the West Bank. Under this new regime, Palestinians holding West Bank identification cards, including some 350 UNRWA staff, will require permits to enter the areas east of the Green Line and west of the separation barrier. They will be obliged to enter and leave East Jerusalem only through the few mechanized terminals designated for their use and they must cross the terminals on foot. The new measures will also obstruct the free movement of humanitarian supplies from Israel into and from the occupied West Bank. Containers loaded onto trucks in Ashdod harbour will be required to empty their contents at checkpoints and terminals and the contents palletized and re-loaded onto trucks on the other side. These new measures will impede as never before humanitarian access to hundreds of thousands of refugees who depend on UNRWA and other agencies for their support. They will result in an exponential increase in the cost of humanitarian operations both in financial terms and in the inevitable delays that the restrictions will entail. The new measures are extremely dangerous to the economy of the West Bank and therefore to the future of the Palestinian people. Already profoundly enfeebled by the separation barrier, years of occupation and de facto sanctions, the last thing the West Bank needs are further blows to its economic and political -viability. If the international community takes no action and allows the new measures to take root, they could become – like Israeli settlements on Palestinian land and the separation barrier – difficult if not impossible to dismantle or reverse, with lethal implications for Palestinian lives and the future of a Palestinian State. Gaza I have lived in Gaza for more than seven years and have often spoken about conditions there. Yet, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find new ways to describe the experience of a million and a half people under occupation, 70% of whom are Palestine refugees, residing literally in captivity, in full view of the international community and with its tacit acquiescence. The situation of Gaza and its people is an appalling aberration from the humane ideals enshrined in the United Nations Charter and in the European Union’s founding instruments. It flies in the face of all our lofty principles of humanity, justice and the rule of international law. Since the year 2000, the Gazan body politic has been devastated by the effects of internal strife, armed conflict with Israel, and de facto sanctions. With poverty and unemployment at record rates, the economy and social fabric of Gaza was already on a precipitous slide when a new dimension of sanctions was imposed by the occupying power in June this year, resulting in an additional 80,000 persons unemployed this summer. The almost total sealing of Gaza’s borders has all but severed physical links with the outside world. The exceptions made for humanitarian supplies, food and some medical items have not averted a situation of crisis, and it remains to be seen whether - and if so when - effect will be given to the Israeli government’s recent assurances that Sofa crossing will be re-opened and that the export of flowers and strawberries to the European Union will be resumed. In the meantime, the reality is that Gaza’s supply lines have been reduced by 70 per cent. The import of industrial fuel for the Gaza power plant has been cut by 32 per cent and the inflow of diesel fuel by 24 per cent. It is easy to imagine the consequences for power supplies to homes, hospitals and to the few businesses still functioning, and the ultimate human implications of these restrictions. We will do well to heed the recent warnings issued by Oxfam and others about grave threats posed to public health by shortages of clean water and the deterioration of sanitation services. As if that is not enough, Gazans live under the constant threat of further restrictions in essential supplies. Hardly a week goes by without public speculation about areas where the occupying power may be contemplating a further squeeze in essential supplies. This past week a timetable, beginning 2 December was announced by the Israeli Minister of Defence, for gradually increasing electricity cuts. The reductions already imposed have been tolerated only because so many businesses have already shut down. The psychological effect of living under such levels of incessant anxiety is taking a toll on Gazans’ ability to weather the crisis. Gaza is the only place in the world where this degree of calculated and indiscriminate suffering is – or has ever been – inflicted on an entire people. UNRWA is doing its utmost, together with other UN agencies, to mitigate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Our staff have shown extraordinary courage by remaining in Gaza to ensure the continuous delivery of services, including during the period of the heaviest internal conflict this year. We are determined to keep faith with Palestine refugees no matter how desperate the situation may become. UNRWA is not alone in its dedication to Palestinians and Palestine refugees. Other humanitarian agencies have played their part and so has the European-funded Temporary International Mechanism. In ensuring that social allowances are paid and fuel and medical supplies maintained, the mechanism helps in no small measure to ease the distress of many thousands of vulnerable Palestinians. We are pleased to note that the TIM has been extended for a further period. These observations notwithstanding, it is clear that the salvation of Gaza does not lie in humanitarian action alone– even on the scale that UNRWA and others are capable of delivering. Humanitarian work is not, and should not, be a substitute for free trade, open borders and an open economy. Relief assistance cannot serve as an alternative to self-sustaining macro-economic growth or as a substitute for necessary political action. Distinguished Committee members: Concluding reflections on the oPt From the recent experience in Gaza and the West Bank, it is clear that the prerequisites for economic self-sufficiency for Palestinians are secure freedom of movement of both people and goods across open borders. To this end, it is imperative that Karni and Rafah crossings re-open and remain fully functional. It is also essential that the international community commits itself to creating the conditions that will make possible the implementation of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access. Recent experience also suggests that efforts to achieve peace have tended to ignore international humanitarian law imperatives, most often to the disadvantage of the Palestinians. I believe our approach to defining and pursuing peace must encapsulate the realization of human interests, human rights and human freedoms for all: Israelis, Palestinians and Palestine refugees equally. The Annapolis meeting may present openings for some movement in that direction. Having seen firsthand the devastation wrought by internecine conflict in Gaza, it is our hope that the international community will use its leverage to promote reconciliation between Palestinians. No effort should be spared to restore the unity of the West Bank and Gaza; it is upon this unity that a viable, secure State of Palestine will rest. |
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